Heavy Betting on Election Domains
Brian Rodgers has no idea why the Bush campaign would let a domain as potentially valuable as Bush2004.com slip out of its grasp.
But since it did, Rodgers, a former resident of President George W. Bush's hometown of Midland, Texas, took the opportunity last fall to snap up the domain, along with identical dot-org and dot-net extensions, for $8,000.
Since then, Rodgers has received calls from Bush supporters who have offered to pay as much as $135,000 for the domains. He declined to sell, citing animosity toward the incumbent president as the chief reason.
"He's a sorry son of a bitch and I'll do anything I can to bring him down," said Rodgers, who now lives outside Austin and is using the domains to house a satire site poking fun at the president.
The fate of Bush2004.com is an oft-repeated example of what happens when politicians neglect to snap up websites containing common variants of their name and election year. While the Bush campaign controls many of the obvious sites, including BushCheney2004.com, GeorgeBush.com, BushforPresident and GeorgeWBush.com -- the official campaign website -- other domains, including GWBush.com and Bush2004, remain in the hands of speculators and satirists.
These days, with campaign season in full swing, speculation in political websites has spawned its own mini industry. Banking on candidates' fears that desirable domains will wind up in the wrong hands, speculators in some cases are buying up domains containing names of prominent politicians even before their electoral intentions are made public.
Since domain names can be registered for less than $10, speculators say it only takes a few good guesses to turn a profit.
"What you really have to be is a prognosticator," said Don Bowman, of Columbus, Ohio, who has bought dozens of domain names in recent years containing names of politicians. This year, he's betting on a long-shot hope that the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, will select Hillary Clinton as his running mate.
"She'd be the best because she would energize the base," Bowman said of Clinton. Such a choice would also bode well for Bowman's personal finances, since he currently owns the domain names KerryClinton.com and KerryHillary.com.
Because most domains containing names of candidates for high-level office are already taken, speculators are wagering heavily on Kerry's potential running mate. Domains containing Kerry's name and the surnames of those believed to be under consideration for the VP post -- including Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri), Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina), Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) -- have already been snapped up.
Not all domain owners, however, had profiteering in mind when they registered the sites. The website KerryEdwards.com, for example, is actually owned by a man named Kerry Edwards, who registered the site back in 1996.
"Because the domain is my actual name, I really don't care to sell," Edwards said in an e-mail. "But if someone were to offer something in the mid-five-figure range or lease (the domain) for 2 cents a hit, I'm sure that I wouldn't have a problem selling it."
While whoever picks the correct running mate stands to score thousands, most VP-related domains will immediately become worthless.
"I don't think it's money in the bank anymore," said Philip Paturzo, owner of the KerryMcCain.com domain, who gives the staunchly Republican McCain a less than 1-in-20 chance of joining a bipartisan ticket. "It's a long shot."
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But since it did, Rodgers, a former resident of President George W. Bush's hometown of Midland, Texas, took the opportunity last fall to snap up the domain, along with identical dot-org and dot-net extensions, for $8,000.
Since then, Rodgers has received calls from Bush supporters who have offered to pay as much as $135,000 for the domains. He declined to sell, citing animosity toward the incumbent president as the chief reason.
"He's a sorry son of a bitch and I'll do anything I can to bring him down," said Rodgers, who now lives outside Austin and is using the domains to house a satire site poking fun at the president.
The fate of Bush2004.com is an oft-repeated example of what happens when politicians neglect to snap up websites containing common variants of their name and election year. While the Bush campaign controls many of the obvious sites, including BushCheney2004.com, GeorgeBush.com, BushforPresident and GeorgeWBush.com -- the official campaign website -- other domains, including GWBush.com and Bush2004, remain in the hands of speculators and satirists.
These days, with campaign season in full swing, speculation in political websites has spawned its own mini industry. Banking on candidates' fears that desirable domains will wind up in the wrong hands, speculators in some cases are buying up domains containing names of prominent politicians even before their electoral intentions are made public.
Since domain names can be registered for less than $10, speculators say it only takes a few good guesses to turn a profit.
"What you really have to be is a prognosticator," said Don Bowman, of Columbus, Ohio, who has bought dozens of domain names in recent years containing names of politicians. This year, he's betting on a long-shot hope that the presumed Democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, will select Hillary Clinton as his running mate.
"She'd be the best because she would energize the base," Bowman said of Clinton. Such a choice would also bode well for Bowman's personal finances, since he currently owns the domain names KerryClinton.com and KerryHillary.com.
Because most domains containing names of candidates for high-level office are already taken, speculators are wagering heavily on Kerry's potential running mate. Domains containing Kerry's name and the surnames of those believed to be under consideration for the VP post -- including Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Missouri), Sen. John Edwards (D-North Carolina), Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) -- have already been snapped up.
Not all domain owners, however, had profiteering in mind when they registered the sites. The website KerryEdwards.com, for example, is actually owned by a man named Kerry Edwards, who registered the site back in 1996.
"Because the domain is my actual name, I really don't care to sell," Edwards said in an e-mail. "But if someone were to offer something in the mid-five-figure range or lease (the domain) for 2 cents a hit, I'm sure that I wouldn't have a problem selling it."
While whoever picks the correct running mate stands to score thousands, most VP-related domains will immediately become worthless.
"I don't think it's money in the bank anymore," said Philip Paturzo, owner of the KerryMcCain.com domain, who gives the staunchly Republican McCain a less than 1-in-20 chance of joining a bipartisan ticket. "It's a long shot."
More at Wired.com
SOLOEnterprises is your one stop shop for computer consulting in Orange County, web site design and web site hosting.
Remember our motto "We Speak YOUR Language"
Computer Service Orange County
Web Design Orange County
Web Hosting Orange County
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